King County Metro restarts fare enforcement

King County Metro to begin fare enforcement next week

Next week, King County Metro is restarting its fare enforcement, with officers making sure riders have proof of payment.

SEATTLE - King County Metro says officers will begin asking riders for proof of fare payment on bus and streetcar routes starting next week.

Timeline:

Fare enforcement officers are expected to be out on RapidRide, the Seattle Streetcar, and other high-ridership bus routes beginning Monday, March 31.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by King County Metro Transit (@kcmetrobus)

Those who do not pay will receive friendly, verbal reminders, according to King County Metro.

"Metro relies on fares to provide safe, clean and reliable transit service, however we estimate that one-third or more of our riders are not paying their fare," Metro’s Chief Safety Officer Rebecca Frankhauser said. "By restarting fare enforcement, we’re confident that many of our riders will return to their habits of tapping their ORCA cards or paying at the farebox."

Metro says it will deploy 30 fare enforcement officers across the system. They will accept proof of payment in the form of:

a tapped ORCA fare card
a tapped ORCA card in Google Wallet
an activated Transit GO Ticket on mobile
a transfer slip from a farebox

Full fare inspection will resume on May 31. At that time, riders without proof of payment will receive a written writing, and after two warnings, a third citation may result in a fine or alternative solution.

On the third violation, riders will be asked to either pay a $40 fine within 90 days (reduced to $20 within 30 days), load $20 onto an ORCA card, enroll in a reduced fare program if eligible, perform two hours of community service, or make an appeal.

Fare enforcement was paused in 2020, as Metro reassessed the transit system in an effort to make it more equitable and welcoming.

Metro also highlighted its reduced and free fare cards:

ORCA LIFT card for riders with lower incomes ($1 fares for Metro bus service)
Regional Reduced Fare Permit for seniors and riders with disabilities ($1 bus fares)
ORCA Youth cards for kids aged 18 and younger
Subsidized annual pass for low-income riders enrolled in certain government programs
More info online via the Reduced Fare portal

The updated fare enforcement is happening in partnership with the SaFE Equity Workgroup to include more affordable fines, more forgiving policies for late payments, and lower minimum amounts to load onto ORCA or ORCA LIFT cards.

The Source: Information in this story is from King County Metro.